The Force Crystals
by H W Palmer
Summary: AU. Sequel to Discovery on Tatooine. Anakin and his Padawan are sent on a mission to stop the Sith Lord and after a surprising revelation, a Padawan falls to the Dark Side. Now Obi Wan, Anakin and his Padawan must race to redeem their lost Padawan.
1. Chapter 1

**This is the sequel to my other Star Wars Discovery on Tatooine story. Remla is still recovering from her friend Taffo's death and must learn to be strong on her own. And the Force crystals are not destroyed as everyone thought.**

Remla glanced up as the light on the data screen started to flash with a red light. They were being attacked.

"Three more coming in on the right." Anakin reported over the comlink. Remla grabbed at the joystick controls and turned her starfighter to the left, using a manoeuvre Anakin had taught her to spin around and face the attacking Separatist fighter. She pushed on the trigger and watched blue laser fire collide with the oncoming ship and it exploded into pieces, the heat brushing against Remla as she sat in the cockpit, the debris scraping against her fighter. She blinked against the burning light and smiled at how experienced she was becoming as a pilot.

"Good job." Anakin commented. Remla sighed heavily, turning her starfigher to where Anakin's flew ahead of her. She wasn't in the mood to hear Anakin's compliments like 'good Padawan'. As a Jedi she wouldn't have to be constantly complimented and criticized by her Master. And hopefully she would become a Jedi soon.

She was on another mission the Council had sent her on, a mission to track down the Sith Lord's ship and defeat the Sith Lord, who had become an increasingly bigger problem for the Council. The Sith Lord was a constant reminder for all of them of Taffo's death, which had caused Remla to fall into a cycle of grief and anger, mostly at Obi Wan.

She was so familiar with those emotions now, as she had been feeling them for many months since her best friend's death. It had been Obi Wan's fault that she had died, he had tripped over that tree root and now Taffo was dead. Remla accepted that all those weeks ago, she accepted that Taffo was gone and there was nothing she could do about it. That still didn't ease her anger at Obi Wan. But she could always take that out on the Sith Lord who had caused them to blow up the planet in the first place.

Remla felt the Force strongly, and glanced down at her Force crystal to see it shining in silver light. It was so powerful and she kept it close in her Jedi robe away from the Jedi. She didn't want them to take it off her and destroy it. It was too powerful and too useful to destroy, the only Force crystal left in the galaxy.

"Boost the axillery power R9." Remla ordered as the little red astromech droid beeped beside her. The starfighter sped up and the stars began to blur together. Remla turned the controls to fly beside her Master. She was used to travelling in starfighters now, as she used them through all the missions she had been on. Anakin was helping by teaching her manoeuvres to fight in battle and with the Force crystal speeding up her learning process; she could easily fight in battle.

"Sith ship dead ahead." Anakin spoke. "It's the Sith Lord."

Remla smiled and nodded. This was her chance to kill the Sith Lord and make him pay for how he had led Taffo to die. And hopefully to prove to the Council that she could be a Jedi.

"We will need to land in the hangar." Anakin said. "And make our way to the command room."

"Okay." Remla agreed. She piloted the starfighter towards the Sith ship and hit the throttle. The starfighter sped up and soon she was directly in front of the ship, watching Anakin manoeuvre his fighter into the hangar. The hangar doors were open, almost as if the Sith Lord was expecting them to arrive. Remla turned her starfighter towards the open hangar and piloted through the entrance, just brushing the roof of the hangar. R9 beeped crazily, having just missed getting its head scraped off.

"Sorry R9!" Remla cried, flicking the controls to land awkwardly near the ground. Sparks sprayed across the floor of the hangar as Remla's starfighter scraped against the metal. She skidded to a stop and undid the buckles around her. The roof slid open and she climbed out, impressed with the ease of the new starfighter models. They had fold out wings too, and were more improved than the other triangle shaped fighters available months ago.

"Happy landing?" Anakin smiled cheekily as Remla walked up the steps and glared at her Master. Sometimes she wondered how Anakin could be in such good moods during these type of missions.

"It was so joyous." Remla said dryly, then added seriously. "The doors are open; the Sith Lord knows we're here."

"Yes Padawan, I agree." Anakin nodded, stepping into the ship. Remla followed and glanced around at the small white corridors around her. It was a bit small for a Sith ship and too quiet.

There was a beep and Remla spun around to see Anakin's R2 droid behind her.

"What's R2 here for?" Remla asked as the little droid beeped happily.

"He's helpful to accessing the schematics of the ship." Anakin replied. R2 beeped a response that Remla didn't understand.

"Well, we need to get to the command room." Remla pointed out. "And find the Sith Lord."

"R2 can access the schematics now." Anakin looked over at the little R2 droid.

R2 beeped and a blue hologram appeared, showing the ship in flickering blue light.  
"Padawan, the command room is here." Anakin pointed to an area of the hologram. "We need to go through this corridor here which should take us there."

"Okay." Remla nodded. R2 beeped and the hologram faded. They walked down the corridor when Remla hesitated. She could sense something nearby, and through her powerful connection to the Force – Remla reached out to the Force crystal in her robe. Instantly, her mind cleared and her perception increased, she could see the droidekas guarding the command room, the battle droids patrolling the corridors, a vault of Force crystals heavily guarded by super battle droids. And she could sense Taffo. What? How? That was impossible! Taffo was dead!

But Remla was certain it was her, her Force connection was so strong that she could see through the Force cage and see her limp, bloody form trapped in there, in a room of Force cages. Usually Force cages blocked any access to the Force, but the Force crystal was so powerful that Remla could see who was inside. And it was Taffo!

"Taffo!" Remla cried, her concern for her friend overcoming the mission. She took ff down the corridor.

"Padawan!" Anakin shouted as Remla ran down the corridor, sensing through the Force and finding her way to the Force cage. She could sense Anakin running after her and R2 slowly following. She felt the power of the Force crystal, and in her minds eye she could see the schematics of the ship, as clear as a map, and knew exactly where to go. The map in her mind showed where the droids stood in the corridors, and the Sith Lord in the command room.

"Remla!" Anakin shouted, but it sounded on deaf ears. "Holly!"

Remla stopped when she heard that name. Anakin had never called her that before. No one had. Holly had been her name when she was born, and when she had been given to the Jedi by her parents, she had taken the name of Remla.

"What." Remla turned to face her Master, annoyed at how he had used that name to get her attention.

"Taffo is dead." Anakin stated. "What do you think you are doing? Trying to get captured?"

"I'm using the Force crystal." Remla replied simply. "I know where to go."

"What?" Anakin cried. "The Force crystals were destroyed!"

"Not this one." Remla held up the Force crystal in her robe, not caring what her Master thought. She was going to find Taffo and get her off the ship. She didn't want to know of her friend being tortured over the two months that she had been presumed dead.

"Padawan, why did you take one!" Anakin fumed. "They were to be destroyed!"

"They are too powerful to be destroyed. This crystal is mine, and with it, I can become powerful enough to sense everything in the galaxy! I can become a Jedi!"

"Listen to yourself! The Force crystals aren't tools. They corrupt the user, twisting their mind until they become a tool, consumed by the power of the Force."

"How would you know, that's not true, I'm not being twisted!"

"I read about them in the Archives. The Force crystals consume the user with their power. They sap the will and energy from them, either turning them to the Dark Side or killing them."

"But I'm not going to destroy it! It's mine!" Remla pulled out her lightsaber and activated the blue blade. Anakin stared at her in confusion. Even Remla blinked at how she had reacted. She lowered her lightsaber, a bit taken aback.

"I'm not going to take it from you." Anakin said quietly. "But tell me what you sensed."

"Droidekas guarding the command room. Super battle droids guarding a vault of Force crystals. Taffo in a Force cage."

"A vault of Force crystals?" Anakin looked worried.

"Yes. That's where you should go. I'm going to find Taffo."

"Remla, I need to go with you. I'm your Master, and you're just a Padawan. You can't do this on your own."

"Thanks for the support." Remla mumbled. At least Anakin wasn't complimenting her anymore, as even that was getting tiring. But Remla guessed all Padawans got annoyed of their Masters after spending so much time with them.

"No problem Padawan." Anakin grinned. He turned and ran down the corridor with Remla beside him. R2 beeped at them and stayed behind to guard their starfighters.

"If there _are_ Force crystals here then we will need to destroy the ship." Anakin said. "Even though I doubt there will be as they were destroyed when Korriban was blown up."

"Unless the Sith Lord took them and Taffo before he escaped." Remla suggested.

"Good point Padawan." Anakin nodded. More compliments. Remla grumbled to herself as they turned a corner to see a group of super battle droids. Remla didn't know how to react for a second. Anakin pulled out his lightsaber and swung it to cut through one of them. The other fifteen of them started firing.

Remla used her lightsaber to deflect their fire, but soon they would both be shot down. They couldn't fight through fifteen super battle droids. Remla glanced around and saw a grate to the left. This was a similar situation to when she and Taffo had escaped from the droidekas at Korriban, they needed to go through the grate.

"To the grate!" Anakin ordered. Remla was a bit surprised that he had said that just when she was about to suggest it. But she didn't want to argue with her Master after all.

Remla ran to the grate and kicked it down then crawled through. She turned around to see Anakin get shot in the shoulder. Remla scrambled forward, about to leap out and save him, but then realised that it would be stupid, as she would be shot and captured too. Her Master was captured, and now she was alone. Remla could only watch as Anakin was dragged away. Remla sat in the tunnels for a while, fuming over her choices. She should have been able to sense the droids with her Force crystal, but then, she hadn't been concentrating enough. She was the only one left, she would have to destroy the ship, and rescue her Master– after she rescued Taffo.

Remla reached out to the Force again and sensed her friend close by. She started crawling through the air conditioning tunnels, her knees scraping across the metal. That was when she heard voices below. Reaching out to the Force, Remla could hear the conversation below.

"Well find the Padawan and bring her here." an angry voice said. "She cannot destroy the Force crystals."

Remla started to crawl again, frantically thinking. She would need to stay hidden from the droids if she was to rescue Taffo and her Master, and it was up to her to destroy the ship and the Force crystals. But she wasn't going to destroy her own crystal. She was going to keep it for herself. First she had to save Taffo, and then together they would go and save Anakin. Or they would use thermal detonators in the vault of Force crystals. But then the ship wouldn't be destroyed when the detonators would explode. Remla decided to stay focused on getting to Taffo.

Remla continued crawling, sensing droids running down the corridors below her. She reached out to the Force and felt her mind clear as she accessed the power of her Force crystal. Taffo was directly below her now. She stopped but there was no grate beneath her, no way to see underneath and into the room. So this was different from Korriban then.

Remla pulled out her lightsaber and stabbed it through the metal. She cut a square through the floor, watching the burning blue blade carve through the metal and melt it. She deactivated her lightsaber and punched the metal square. The metal fell away and landed with a loud clang below. Remla hesitated. That noise would have alerted any droids in the room. Remla waited for a few seconds, but couldn't sense anything below.

Remla jumped down and found herself in a holding cell room of Force cages. There were decaying bodies of Jedi in some of them, and even skeletons. Remla stared around in shock. This was a torture chamber. She glanced around to see a sealed door behind her with three droidekas guarding it. Remla smiled at how she had ended up using the tunnels and getting in the easy way. If she had gone down the corridors she would have ran into the droidekas and gotten captured.

Remla walked past the Force cages to see one that was activated with a glowing yellow light. Through the light she could see Taffo lying in the cage. She was alive! Taffo was alive! Remla could hardly believe it. Her friend was alive after all this time and she thought she was dead! Remla had gone through so much anger and grief for nothing! Her friend was still alive!

Remla quickly ran to the Force cage and studied it. There was no panel or datapad to shut off the field. Remla glanced around the room. There was no way to deactivate the fields around the cages. Taffo was trapped in there.

**Review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Any reviews would be appreciated. :)**

Suddenly Remla realised that the Force cages were being controlled in the command room. That was where the Sith Lord was, and it was the room that was heavily guarded. There was no way she could get there undetected. Remla ran around in frustration, hitting the walls in hopes of finding a hidden button to could get the Force cage open. But who would have secret buttons in the walls anyway? She had come this far, and her friend was right there, but she couldn't get to her!

Remla calmed herself down. She didn't want to get captured and end up in a Force cage like Taffo. It looked like she would have to go to the command room, there was no other way.

Suddenly Remla heard someone speaking at the door, and the door was sliding open. Remla ran under the hole in the roof and Force jumped up, pulling herself back into the air conditioning tunnels, just in time as the door opened.

She glanced down and watched as three super battle droids dragged an unconscious Anakin into a Force cage. Remla wondered how they would activate it without any panel. She watched as a droid tapped the wall. No, not the wall, there was a cleverly hidden button there. So there was buttons in the walls! Remla was annoyed at being so close to opening the Force cages.

A datapad slid out and the droid tapped some buttons, activating the Force cage and trapping Anakin inside.

Remla had at least cheered up at knowing how to turn off the Force cages. She could deactivate the Force cages now, once the droids were gone.

Remla waited, but the droids stayed there, guarding the cages. Remla cursed quietly. The droids weren't going to leave; they would have been given orders to guard them as she was the only one left in the ship. The Sith Lord knew she would try to save her Master and friend. She would have to distract the droids without alerting everyone in the ship.

Remla reached out to the Force and tapped into the droids' minds, drawing from the power of the Force crystal, feeling the immense power around her. She activated some sort of override code inside them and watched as the droids ran out the door. Remla waited to see if they would return, but apparently her mind trick had worked.

Remla jumped down and ran to the button on the wall. She tapped it and the datapad slid out, revealing lots of coloured and numbered buttons. She easily knew which button to push and quickly went to push it.

Then the door slid open and the droids fired at her. They had broken free of the mind trick! Remla ran to the hole and jumped into the tunnels again.

"She's in the ventilation tunnels!" a droid shouted.

Remla crawled down the tunnel, annoyed at how she had almost freed them, and angry at how the droids had found her there. Now they knew she would return that way, she had to find another way to the Force cages. Remla glanced back as she continued crawling and saw a thermal detonator get thrown into the tunnels, banging across the metal floor. It flashed for a few seconds and Remla crawled faster and frantically. The detonator exploded, the heat and flames roaring through the tunnel. Remla was thrown forward from the force of the explosion and slid across the ground, the heat burning behind her. She stumbled up and continued crawling as the explosion continued roaring down the tunnel behind her. She had to get out of the tunnel or she would be burnt alive.

Remla pulled out her lightsaber as the flames rushed towards her. She cut a hole through the metal and kicked it to the ground then jumped through as the flames whooshed past her. The heat burned at her as Remla hit the ground, her robes on fire. She rolled and patted them out, smoke burning at her lungs. She coughed and spluttered then became aware that she wasn't alone.

Remla glanced around and saw that she was surrounded by battle droids and a few droidekas, their weapons pointed at her.

"It's about time." The voice said. Remla looked up to see the figure of the Sith Lord walk in front of her. She looked up at his face – the face of Von Sander! The guy who had blown up Darth Maul, the guy who had helped them!

"You!" Remla cried. "How? Why?"

"No time for questions." Von Sander smiled. It was the real Von Sander. He was the Sith Lord. Not the Kasich. Von Sander wasn't dead.

"You took the Kasich as your apprentice after you killed Darth Maul." Remla realised. "You were after the Force crystals and when you lost them, you sent the Kasich to get them for you."

"Too bad you didn't realise earlier." Von Sander sighed. "I wasn't the one who sealed the temple. That was another Jedi who wanted to protect the Force crystals. I tortured that Jedi to reveal the location of the crystals at Tatooine. I sent my apprentice to find them while I went to the cantina and when I saw the Jedi, I took on the identity of Von Sander, to fool them. They believed me as Von Sander and we went to the moisture farm only to find that they were gone."

"I don't want to hear the whole story." Remla snapped. "Had you always been in the Dark Side?"

"Ever since I found out of the power of the Force crystals." Von Sander replied. "That was many years ago, and now I have them in my possession thanks to you."

"How did you get them?" Remla asked, but then realised the answer as soon as she had spoken.

"When you left the planet, I took them just as I took your Padawan friend." Von Sander smiled. "And you have one too, I sense. That was how you could sense the ship and managed to find a way to the torture chamber."

Before Remla could react, the Sith Lord used the Force to pull the Force crystal from her robe. It floated through the air, glittering and shining with so much power. Then it exploded into fine granules as the Sith used the Force to destroy the Force crystal. Remla stared in shock as the pieces of crushed Force crystal fell to the floor.

"Damn." Von Sander smiled. "Take her to the torture chamber."

Before Remla could speak she was shot with a stun blaster.

Remla opened her eyes to see the glaring yellow light of the Force cage around her. She blinked and found that her mind had cleared. There was no obsession over the Force crystal, it had gone. There was no power around her and she felt weak and vulnerable. But the burden of the power of the Force crystal had gone. Anakin had been right; she had been corrupted by the power of the Force crystal. But now she was free from it, now she could think freely.

"Remla."

Remla glanced up and saw Anakin in the Force cage opposite her, his shoulder wrapped in a thick bandage. Then she angrily recalled that they were all captured now. Remla got to her feet and angrily hit the field around her with her hand. She got a mild shock up her arm and jerked back.

"I've already tried that." Anakin said grimly. "So you were right. Taffo is alive."

"I know." Remla smiled. "I told you, and the Sith Lord has the Force crystals as well."

"Just as the Council feared." Anakin nodded.

"The Council knew?" Remla cried. She had never known that!

"Of course they did." Anakin replied. "They were just unsure as to how the Sith would have gotten them. Now we know."

"And now we're trapped. Captured." Remla complained. "And soon to be tortured."

"Von Sander will come to torture us for information." Anakin warned. "We have to escape. Use your Force crystal."

"I can't." Remla snapped. "Von Sander destroyed it. But I know there's a button on the wall."

"We won't be able to press it." Anakin sighed. "We can't use the Force through these cages."

"Then we can only wait." Remla mumbled. She looked over at Taffo who was still unconscious. She had been unconscious all the time she had seen her. Was it the Force cage keeping her in that state? Or was she dead?

"Taffo's alive." Remla pointed out, in case Anakin hadn't noticed.

"I knew that too." Anakin said. "The Council knew, it was part of our theory of how the Sith Lord would have gotten the Force crystals."

"Oh great." Remla muttered. "So the Council knew all that. Why didn't they tell me?"

"As I said, it was just a theory." Anakin said. "And it was correct."

Remla anxiously waited, watching the door. If it slid open, then she would have to be ready for whatever torture devices Von Sander would have ready for them. She didn't want to think of needles, or probe droids or phasers being used. Too horrible.

Then the door slid open and a hooded figure stepped inside, moving silently.

"Don't use needles!" Remla screeched in fear. Anakin glanced at her. Remla had horrible flashes in her mind of the sharp long needles and how she would get stabbed and injected, horrible sharp metal sticks stabbing through her arm. The figure stepped into the light to reveal the face of Obi Wan.

"Obi Wan?" Remla cried in surprise.

"Obi Wan?" Anakin frowned.

"Hello there." Obi Wan smiled, pulling off his hood. "I'm being followed by Sith assassins, so we don't have much time."

"The wall." Anakin said quickly, but Obi Wan was staring at the other Force cage.

"Taffo!" Obi Wan gasped. He rushed over to Taffo's Force cage and stared in happiness and surprise.

"Yea, she's alive." Remla sighed. "Hurry up, let us out!"

"How did you get here?" Anakin asked.

"I followed your ship's tracking devices." Obi Wan explained, hurrying over to the button on the wall and pushing it.

"I only have a few seconds to get you free and then we have to return to the hangar." Obi Wan tapped buttons on the datapad and the yellow field fizzed and faded. Remla happily stepped out and went over to Taffo who seemed to have broken out of her unconscious state. She blinked and got to her feet.

"Hey, what am I doing here?" Taffo asked.

"Padawan!" Obi Wan grinned, running over and embracing her. Taffo blinked and looked a bit flustered.

"Taffo!" Remla smiled.

"Taffo." Anakin smiled.

"What, you're all acting like I died or something." Taffo frowned. "Where am I?"

"We thought you were dead." Remla said. "Can't you remember the explosion on Korriban? Being shot?"

"Oh. Yea. I remember." Taffo smiled as Obi Wan pulled away and put his arm protectively around her.

"Lets get going." Anakin reached to his belt then remembered that his lightsaber had been taken.

"Our weapons are at the command room." Anakin grumbled. "We need to get them back."

"First we need to destroy the Force crystals." Obi Wan pointed out. They hurried out the door and down the corridor. Remla glanced around them, wishing she had her Force crystal again, and then she could sense everything happening in the ship.

"What do Sith assassins do?" Taffo asked, moving a bit slowly as she hadn't moved in weeks.

"They go invisible." Obi Wan told her.

"Oh. Well then they could be all around us." Taffo whispered.

"That's not very helpful." Remla mumbled, glancing around in fear. There could be a Sith assassin walking behind them and they wouldn't notice.

"What happened when you were here?" Obi Wan asked his Padawan.

"I can hardly remember." Taffo rubbed at her arm. "There were needles, probe droids and flashing blue, painful lightning."

"You were tortured." Obi Wan looked horrified. "What information was he trying to get from you?"

"None." Taffo whispered. "He already knew everything, he had the Force crystals. He was trying to turn me to the Dark Side."

"You can't turn to the Dark Side with torture." Remla muttered.

"Torture breaks down a person will." Obi Wan explained. "After months of painful torture, anyone could easily fall to the Dark Side."

"Then they would be weak." Remla snapped.

"No, even the most powerful Jedi Masters could fall." Anakin said.

"I think we're almost at the hangar." Obi Wan stated.

"But why are we going to the hangar?" Remla frowned.

"To lead you into a trap." Obi Wan smiled. Remla blinked then looked closer at Obi Wan. His eyes were black! He was a Kasich! How could they so easily fall into this trap!

"Obi Wan?" Taffo frowned.

"It's a Kasich! Run!" Anakin shouted. He turned and fled down the corridor. Remla grabbed Taffo's arm as the Kasich melted into its true form, black mist flowing from its dark face.

"AAAH!" Taffo cried, running along with Remla. Remla began thinking over what had happened. Why would the Sith Lord let them escape and then let them run around the ship?

Remla's question was answered when Sith assassins appeared all around them, their invisibility shields flickering off. They were captured again.

**Next chapter: The Sith Lord continues to try and weaken Taffo's will.**


	3. Chapter 3

They were back in the Force cages. Taffo was crying quietly.

"I thought it was Obi Wan!" Taffo sobbed. "I was so happy! What was the point of that? Why let us out then do that? I want to get out of here!"

"He's trying to break down our will." Anakin said gravely. "Trying to get us weak."

"And it's working." Taffo sobbed. "I can't stand this any longer."

Remla stared at her friend in concern. Taffo had endured months of torture by the Sith Lord, and now she had thought she had been rescued, saved by Obi Wan who she really liked. Remla was worried that Taffo would break and the Sith Lord would turn her to the Dark Side.

"Stay strong Taffo." Anakin advised. "We will escape."

Remla stood in the Force cage for hours. She sat down occasionally and tried to sleep, her thoughts whirling madly through her mind. She was so bored, tired and angry.

"I want to see Obi Wan!" Taffo screamed. "Obi Wan come and help me!"

Remla shared a look with Anakin. They were both concerned about Taffo.

Remla sat in the Force cage and began to watch the flickering yellow light. She began to notice a pattern in the light and wondered what would happen if she tapped the light when it flickered at exactly that time. Remla waited then stabbed her finger through the field when the light flickered. To her surprise, the field shut down.

"How did you do that?" Anakin was equally surprised. Remla stepped out and shook off her own surprise. It had just been a random thought and it had worked.

"I just stabbed the field when it flickered." Remla replied, hurrying over to the button on the wall and pushing it.

"That was when the field refreshed, which only lasts for a split second." Anakin smiled, impressed. "You would have to have had quick reflexes to do that."

"I do." Remla smiled, tapping the buttons on the datapad and the fields shut down.

"I'm out!" Taffo cried. "I'm free! I'm coming to Obi Wan!"

"Be quiet!" Anakin hissed. "We don't want to get captured again!"

"Let's go through the air conditioning tunnels." Remla suggested. "They won't expect that."

"Good idea Padawan." Anakin agreed. Remla was too tired to notice that it was another compliment. She quickly Force jumped up into the tunnel, her hands gripping the warm, blackened metal. She pulled herself up into the black tunnel which had been blown out of proportion by the explosion from the thermal detonator.

"This way!" Remla crawled forward with Anakin and a weeping Taffo behind her. Her hands scraped against the warm, melted metal and she coughed at the burnt smell.

"We're almost out, we're almost out!" Taffo whispered repeatedly.

"The command room will be heavily guarded." Remla pointed out.

"How will we know where to go?" Anakin asked his Padawan.

"I fell into it." Remla replied, crawling to a stop at the hole she had cut in the tunnel to escape the flames. The command room was below. It seemed empty. Remla reached out to the Force, but it was harder without using the Force crystal. Remla jumped down and landed on the ground, glancing around to see the huge window stretch across the front of the ship. She could see out to the planet of Bespin which they were moving toward at a fast speed.

Anakin and Taffo landed behind her.

"Why is there no one here?" Taffo wondered.

"We have to get off this ship!" Anakin warned.  
"Why so soon?" Remla asked. "We have to destroy the Force crystals and find the Sith!"

"The ship is set at full speed, the coordinates are at Bespin!" Anakin snapped. "We're going to crash into Bespin!"

"We can't let that happen." Remla said, running over to the controls. "Can you fly this?"

"No." Anakin smiled, pulling out a needle.

"What?" Remla cried, stepping back. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing Padawan." Anakin smiled, throwing the needle through Remla's eye. A blinding pain skewered through Remla's head as she pried her eyes open to find herself back in the Force cage.

"Wha-?" Remla blinked groggily and sat up, shaking her fuzzy vision away. Her head burned and her arm stung badly. Remla reached over to her arm and pulled up her robe sleeve to reveal a needle hole. She had been injected with something, something that was making her hallucinate.

"Anakin? Taffo?" Remla stood up and squinted through the yellow field. She saw Taffo lying in her Force cage. Anakin wasn't there.

Remla waited, wanting to escape, wanting to get away from this. How long had they been captured on the ship? They wouldn't be able to escape without their weapons.

"Remla?" Taffo was awake. "My arm hurts. What's happening?"

"We're being injected." Remla answered gravely. "I don't know what's going on, or what he's trying to do. But we have to get out of here."

"We can't." Taffo wailed. "We're trapped. Captured. Now we'll be tortured to death."

"Where's Anakin?" Remla asked her friend.

"He got dragged out." Taffo replied. "I don't want to stay here any longer, or I'll break. I can't stand this any longer! I want to get out!"

"Okay." Remla looked at the Force cage and remembered her hallucination. The field flickered for a split second, just as it had done in her hallucination. Did that mean she was hallucinating how to escape? Would this work?

Remla waited anxiously for the field to flicker – then it did and Remla stabbed her arm through the yellow field, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. The field didn't shut down.

"What are you doing?" Taffo cried. "How did you do that?"

Remla was annoyed at how she didn't escape and went to pull her arm back in. But it was stuck, submerged in the field. Somehow, when the field had refreshed, her arm had caught in the electrical field.

"What are you doing that for?" Taffo laughed. "It looks so weird with your arm sticking out of the field. Why don't you try stepping out?"

"I can't." Remla snapped. "I'm stuck."

"You have to try." Taffo encouraged her friend. "You managed to get your arm out."

"I can't." Remla sighed. Then she realised something. With her hand out of the Force cage, she could use the Force! She could use the Force to activate the button and deactivate the Force cages!

Remla reached out to the Force and sensed the button on the wall. She concentrated on pushing the button, holding out her palm to use Force push. Then the datapad slid out from the wall. Remla concentrated on pushing the button that deactivated the Force cages. It was a different use of the Force than she was used to as she hadn't used the Force to push buttons on data pads without looking directly at them. She couldn't even see the buttons, but relied on the Force to guide her to the correct button. She focused and then felt the button through the Force and pushed it.

The Force fields deactivated after flickering for a few seconds.

"Yay! You did it!" Taffo cried. Remla shook her arm and quickly stepped out of the Force cage.

"Now what?" Taffo walked over to her friend, her clothes crumpled and dirty.

"We need to find Anakin." Remla said. "And then we need to get off this ship, after blowing it up."

"How can we blow up this huge ship?" Taffo asked as the two of them quickly ran down the corridors, glancing around for any droids. Or Sith assassins, Remla thought. If there were any.

"We can go to the command room and force the ship to self destruct." Remla decided.

"I don't know much about ships, but I do know that you can't set a ship to self destruct." Taffo whispered, glancing behind her. Remla heard speaking around the corner and backed against the wall. They were unarmed and they didn't want to get captured again.

"What can we do?" Taffo hissed as she stood beside her friend. Remla leaned to the side and peered around the corner. There were about three battle droids guarding a room. Remla knew they were guarding the holding cells, as she could sense Anakin nearby.

"Wait." Remla stepped away from the wall and ran closer to the droids. As soon as they turned to see her, she reached out to the Force and tapped into their minds, activating a different code in the droids system. The droids jerked then froze.

"What did you do?" Taffo gasped, running over to the motionless battle droids.

"With the Force as my ally, I deactivated them." Remla smiled. "But I'm only a Padawan, so I guess it won't last for long."

Taffo looked at the droids to see that they were jerking again. They were going to reactivate soon if they didn't hurry.

"Let's go then!" Taffo grabbed Remla and the two Padawans ran into the room to see Anakin lying in a Force cage.

But at that moment the droids had reactivated behind them and their blasters were pointed at their backs.

"Don't move Jedi!" one of the droids ordered. Remla shot a look behind them to see the battle droids standing there and considered using the Force to push them over. But then she reconsidered when three droidekas rolled over and activated their shields.

They were captured yet again.

**Next chapter: The Sith Lord decides to end this once and for all.**


	4. Chapter 4

The two of them were taken to the command room. Taffo glanced around nervously at the droids all around them. They were brought to the front of the ship in front of Von Sander.

"Well, nice to see you both again." Von Sander grinned. "I am quite sad at how you both managed to escape so efficiently. I can only wonder how you both escaped those Force cages with no help."

"It was thanks to you." Remla smiled.

"What do you mean?" Von Sander looked a bit taken aback.

"Well, with your injections, I started hallucinating." Remla explained. "And in my hallucination, I saw a way to get out. So I did that. I got out."

"Damn you Jedi!" Von Sander snapped. "I'm not going to bother keeping you here! Shoot them now! Blast their brains across the floor this instant!"

The battle droids started firing at the Padawans.

Taffo ducked and reached out to the Force, pulling a blaster from on of the droids. Remla rolled across the floor like a hero in a movie, only to trip over her robe and fall onto Von Sander.

"Damn you!" Von Sander clawed at Remla as they both attacked each other on the ground. Taffo fired at a droid and watched it fall to the ground, but they were running out of time. Taffo began to wonder what to do when she saw the controls ahead of her. She considered what Remla had spoke of before when a stray blaster shot burned through her robe, just missing her leg.

Taffo reacted and aimed her blaster at the controls and squeezed the trigger. The blaster shot hit the controls which erupted in sparks and flames.

"Damn you Jedi!" Von Sander roared again. Remla punched him in the face and then stabbed him in the eye with her thumb. Von Sander screeched and used the Force to push Remla away as he grabbed at his empty eye socket, blood and remains of his eye flowing over his hand.

The ship started beeping as the engines started to malfunction. They were going to crash, just as Taffo had decided.

"Run! Run!" the droids shouted, fleeing for the hangar.

"You will pay!" Von Sander roared in anger as he got up and ran for the exit.

"We can't let him get away!" Remla snapped, running after the Sith. Taffo glanced back at the view screen to see the glittering city lights of Coruscant. They were about to enter the atmosphere.

Remla ran to the door only for Von Sander to use the Force to seal the door shut.

"Die!" Von Sander glared, but didn't look threatening with an empty, bloody eye socket. He fled to the hangar.

The Padawans were trapped in the command room.

"If only we had our weapons!" Remla pushed at the sealed door as Coruscant grew closer, the alarms blaring around them. Taffo ran to the controls and scanned them to get the door open. She saw a button that hadn't been damaged and pushed it.

The controls exploded, fragments of metal and plastic spraying across the room as fire erupted from the controls. The view screen shattered and a large chunk of the ship was torn and thrown into space.

The force of the explosion threw Taffo back into the wall and knocked Remla to the ground. The ship shook from the explosion and the command room became a burning room of flames. Cold air rushed in from the gaping hole in the ship, pulling everything out.

Remla weakly got up, a deep gash across her forehead from a piece of stray shrapnel. The blood dribbled down her face as she ran over to Taffo, who was badly burned. Most of her hair had been burned off, and her robes were smoking, she was barely conscious. The cold wind pulled at them and Remla almost stumbled from the force of it, breathing in air with no oxygen as her lungs burned. Her hair whipped madly as the wind pulled at them.

She blinked against the intense heat of the fire and helped Taffo up and they stumbled to the door, which had been blown open from the force of the explosion. The roaring of the fire burned at her ears.

"Did you know what that button did?" Remla asked.

"No." Taffo laughed weakly. "But I got the door open."

They hurried down the corridors as the flames started consuming the ship. Soon they would run out of air.

They came across a room where the Force seemed to ripple. Remla recognised that feeling. This was the vault of Force crystals. Remla ran to the door and pulled it open, since it had been weakened by the heat from the flames roaring behind them.

"What are you doing?" Taffo asked.

"The Force crystals are here." Remla pulled open the door to reveal hundreds of glittering Force crystals. They hadn't been guarded that heavily.

The ship shook and Remla stumbled, leaning against the wall. Taffo almost fell into the vault, grabbing at the crystals.

"We have to leave now!" Taffo shouted.

"We need to get Anakin!" Remla snapped. They stumbled down the corridor but found that they were lost.  
"We need to get to the hangar." Taffo said. "Anakin can escape. He's a Jedi Master after all."

"No, we can't leave my Master behind!" Remla cried. The ship shook dangerously.

"We have to or we will crash in this ship!" Taffo snapped.  
"Okay." Remla agreed reluctantly. She stayed with the hope that Anakin had escaped. Maybe the alarms and explosion deactivated the Force cage.

The Padawans ran down the corridor as the ship started shaking and rocking as it began to burn up in the atmosphere.

They reached the hangar to see Anakin standing there. Remla was overjoyed.

"Padawan! Taffo, we have to hurry." Anakin took them to an abandoned Sith ship, enough to hold the three of them.

"How did you escape?" Remla asked, surprised.

"R2 helped me." Anakin smiled sadly. "But he was blown apart when he went to the command room from that explosion. It looks like the both of you were involved in that."

"I caused it." Taffo smiled weakly.

Anakin grinned. "Obi Wan will be so happy to hear that you're alive."

The Padawans got into the ship but Anakin hesitated at the ramp. He pulled out a belt of thermal detonators. Remla ran out of the cockpit and over to her Master.

"What are you doing?" Remla cried.

"Destroying the Force crystals." Anakin activated the detonators, and then threw them at a wall. The belt broke and five flashing detonators fell to the floor and rolled, flashing dangerously.

"Go!" Anakin pulled Remla into the ship and got into the cockpit. Remla belted herself into a seat and felt the ship shake as the engines activated and they flew out of the hangar. The detonators exploded, bright burning light lit up the ship as it exploded into burning flames. Remla glanced back and watched as the ship floated in pieces in front of Coruscant's atmosphere.

"Here, I took these from the armoury." Anakin took off his belt holding their lightsabers.

"Yay!" Remla took hers and felt the hilt in her hand. She felt complete as she held her lightsaber, not weak and vulnerable as she had been without a weapon. Remla gladly put hers on her belt.

Taffo took her lightsaber and stared in disbelief. She hadn't held her lightsaber in months. She couldn't wait to use it again, to go on missions and see Obi Wan.

"I can't wait to return home." Taffo smiled as Anakin continued piloting to Coruscant.

**Next chapter: The reaction of everyone as Taffo returns, and another mission for the Padawans.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Reviews are welcome! Don't be shy!!**

The Padawans were taken to the medical facility once they had landed in Coruscant.

"I am so happy to be back here." Remla smiled, looking around at the familiar stone walls in the Temple. She could still recall the yellow light from the Force cages and wondered how long they had been captured for.

Remla got stitches on her forehead and winced as she felt the medical droid tend to her wound. Her artificial hand was also upgraded with artificial tissue and pain sensors. Remla was a bit hesitant about the pain sensors though.

Remla jumped off the bed and walked over to Taffo who had finished drinking the blue bacta liquid, which when digested, would help speed up the healing process.

They had both been dressed in clean cream and brown Jedi robes, and felt a lot better physically. Taffo's hair had been scorched badly, but she had been given hair extensions and Remla was positive that even Obi Wan wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Remla smiled at the thought of Obi Wan seeing Taffo alive again, and Padawan and Master being reunited after so many months of grief and separation.

"I am overjoyed to be back here." Taffo smiled. "It was so horrible being in that Force cage for so long, and all those needles."

"You may need to consume some solids." The medical droid told Taffo. "To help absorb the bacta liquid."

"Yay food!" Remla smiled.

"Yay!" Taffo smiled. She wanted to have delicious food after having nothing but water and being injected her food when she had been captured by Von Sander.

The medical droid floated away then returned with a tray of steaming cheeseburgers, sago, cheesecake and salad.

"Yum!" Remla and Taffo gasped in unison. Taffo took the tray and grabbed a cheeseburger and chewed away.

"Where's mine?" Remla asked the medical droid.

"You did not consume any bacta, therefore you will not need solids." The medical droid answered. Remla looked disappointed. Those burgers looked tasty.

"You can help me eat some." Taffo said to her friend. "I'm not that hungry. I'm just not used to eating after being injected all my food for months."

"Okay!" Remla was happy to eat the three cheeseburgers, a bowl of sago and half of the cheesecake. Salad was too plain for her tastes. Remla got to work to eat all the food. Taffo chewed away on the hot, delicious food when she sensed someone approaching. Someone she knew really well.

"Obi Wan!" Taffo jumped out of the bed and ran to the door as Obi Wan entered. He looked really tired and worn out but his face lit up with delight when he saw Taffo.

"Taffo!" Obi Wan embraced Taffo in happiness and laughed. Remla watched and ate, loving the food they served at the Temple.

"I missed you so much!" Taffo giggled in happiness. Obi Wan looked like he was going to get all emotional and cry as he pulled away. Then he kissed Taffo like in some love movie like _Strictly Ballroom_.

Remla groaned and then started choking on her burger. She coughed it onto the tray and looked back up at Obi Wan and Taffo, but they didn't notice. Obi Wan embraced Taffo again and they both laughed like children.

"I can't believe you're still alive!" Obi Wan smiled. He held Taffo's hand and grinned.

Remla put down her food and left the room, needing to go to the bathroom. She returned to see that Taffo and Obi Wan were kissing again.

"Again?" Remla asked. Taffo and Obi Wan pulled away, smiling like they were a couple.

"The Council wishes to speak to both of you." Obi Wan said. "But you can take as long as you want to go there, as they knew I would want a long reunion with my Padawan."

"Oh sure." Taffo smiled, gazing at Obi Wan in love.

Remla went back to her food and ate. She didn't bother saying anything while Taffo and Obi Wan had their long discussion about their lives, and then it got personal so Remla intervened.

"I think we should go now." Remla interrupted. "It's been an hour."

"Good idea." Taffo smiled at her friend then gazed back at Obi Wan. Remla got up and adjusted her robes, poking at her artificial hand as she followed Taffo and Obi Wan out the door.

The Temple was crowded this afternoon, Jedi were heading up and down the stone halls with tall pillars around them, sunlight filtering in from outside. Remla glanced at Obi Wan and Taffo who were pretending they were just a Master and Padawan. After much walking the three of them entered the Council chambers.

The door slid open and a fresh breeze of cool air hit Remla as she stepped into the huge Council room. She was greeted with the familiar sights of the Jedi Masters in their seats and the big window across the room. Remla bowed along with Taffo as Obi Wan took his seat next to Anakin on the Council.

"Happy we are that alive you were." Master Yoda spoke, acknowledging Taffo. "Pleased, we all are."

"And now we must discuss your mission." Master Windu said.

Remla coughed nervously and glanced at Taffo.

"We are tracking the bounty hunter Jango Fett." Master Windu explained. "We have discovered that he has been hiding out in Bespin."

"Bespin!" Remla whispered, remembering that planet from her hallucination. Maybe her hallucination hadn't completely been one. It could have been a Force premonition. That explained how she knew how to escape the Force cages. Remla smiled at that thought, and hoped that she would get more Force premonitions. But not with the hallucinations.

"Why are we going after a bounty hunter?" Taffo asked. "Don't we usually go after Sith?"

"This bounty hunter has been a concern for the Bespin locals." Master Windu answered. "Fett has been hunting innocents under orders of a crime lord called Sa Faret. This crime lord has been issuing bounties on innocents in Bespin, and he and Fett must be stopped."

"Okay." Remla agreed.

"You and your Masters must go to Bespin and find Fett and Sa Faret." Master Windu ordered. "The Council has concluded, you are to leave for Bespin immediately."

"Do we get to go in starfighters?" Taffo smiled, excited at being able to go on missions again.

"No, you will travel in a Coruscant starship." Master Windu said. "You will need to stay inconspicuous during this mission."

"Okay." Taffo nodded.

"Council dismissed." The Masters stood up. Remla and Taffo bowed and left the Council.

Halfway down the stairs, Remla realised that something was wrong. She glanced back at Taffo and saw that she had a knife. Obi Wan's body was on the ground, blood spraying from his neck.

"What?" Remla cried. Taffo raised the knife.

Remla jerked awake, breathing hard as the fogginess of her hallucination faded. She blinked and found herself back in the Force cage. Back in the Sith ship. That had all been a hallucination? Remla got angry and weakly stood up, staring back at the glaring yellow Force cage. She felt so angry and annoyed that everything she had seen hadn't been real. They were all still in the Sith ship!

Remla looked around and saw Taffo in her Force cage and Anakin in his. They looked weak and tired and Taffo was staring blankly into the air.

"Taffo?" Remla asked. Taffo rocked back and forth as though she were mad. Remla felt mad. Her hallucination had seemed so real, she had been back at Coruscant. But that hadn't been real.

Remla sat back down, fiddling with her robes. They were becoming faded and dirty and Remla began to dread the amount of time they had all been in the ship. She couldn't stand the annoying hallucinations any longer.

Remla jerked awake and found that she had fallen asleep in the ship. She glanced around and saw Obi Wan and Anakin piloting the starship. Taffo was asleep beside her. She jerked awake too.

"I dreamed I was back in the Force cage!" Taffo gasped, blinking her mind clear.

"So did I." Remla started to think about what was happening. They weren't going mad or anything, unless the effects of their injections hadn't worn off.

"The drugs still haven't worn off." Taffo pointed out. "That we were injected. Which means we will still get the hallucinations for a while."

"Oh great." Remla sighed, staring out the view screen and seeing that they were approaching a dark planet. Remla frowned. Weren't they going to Bespin? Or was that a hallucination?

"I thought we were going to Bespin." Remla frowned, glancing over at Taffo.

"No. Master Windu said Korriban." Taffo answered.

"Korriban? That blew up!" Remla cried.

"Padawan, its Korriban II." Obi Wan corrected his Padawan. "The Sith have claimed this planet as their own. It's now the second Korriban in the galaxy."

"Another Sith planet." Taffo commented. Remla was confused. Were the drugs she had been injected at the Sith ship messing with her memories? Making her confused? That had to have been what was happening.

"So what's our mission?" Remla asked.

"We just have to find the Sith Lord." Taffo replied, gripping her lightsaber tightly. "It's going to be a highly dangerous mission. Can't you remember or something? Master Windu told us this?"

"I can't." Remla snapped. "It's those injections. They're making me confused."

"Me too." Taffo said quickly. Remla glanced at her. Taffo seemed fine, she wasn't struggling with her memories, and she didn't seem confused. Now that she thought of it, Taffo had changed considerably after they had left the Sith ship. Maybe because she was glad to be away from there. But Remla was going to stay suspicious of her friend.

"We're entering the atmosphere." Anakin announced. Remla waited as they flew into the dark, ashy skies of Korriban II. The land below them was shrouded in dark shadows and hills of black rocks. It was a dark and depressing place. Remla waited anxiously as they landed behind a cliff. She was getting worried about this planet, worried about what would happen to them here.

"Let's find the Sith Lord." Anakin smiled at his Padawan in reassurance. Remla nodded, afraid. But she cleared her mind and followed her Master down the landing ramp and into the dark mist of Korriban II.

"Do we have to split up?" Remla asked her Master. Anakin laughed.

"No, but you and I can go over those cliffs there." Anakin pointed to the cliffs they had landed behind.

"My Padawan and I will head this way." Obi Wan walked over to Anakin. Taffo glanced at Remla and waved farewell. Remla waved back and watched as Taffo and Obi Wan walked away into the mist. Remla was strangely calm as she walked over to her Master.

"Let's get going." Anakin walked ahead and Remla followed, detaching her lightsaber hilt from her belt and glancing around. She didn't feel safe here. She could sense something nearby.

The two of them reached the base of the cliff and Remla stared up at the height of them.  
"We have to climb them?" Remla cried. Anakin laughed.

"There's a passageway through the cliff over here." Anakin walked along and stepped in front of a slim crack that went to the other side. Remla stared in disbelief. They were going to squeeze through to the other side?

"You can go ahead first." Anakin smiled cheekily. Remla glanced over at the passage and squeezed into the crack. She felt claustrophobic at the little space around her.

"I'll come through soon!" Anakin shouted as Remla continued inching down the crack through the cliff. The dim form of Anakin was getting shrouded in black as Remla slowly made her way through the cliff, awkwardly stepping along and breathing in the dusty air. She was halfway through the cliff now. Suddenly she heard Anakin cry out and heard a lightsaber activate.

Remla panicked and felt trapped and vulnerable in the crack, she could get attacked any moment and there was hardly any room to fight. Anakin was being attacked!

Remla started to quickly stumble back towards Anakin, feeling the black rock behind her. She felt blind in the dim light and small space. Remla continued, and saw a blue lightsaber blade ahead. Anakin was fighting something. And that something looked huge. It was a giant beast of rock! Remla stared in horror as she inched closer to the light.

She was now at the entrance and she could see the creature, it was fifty feet tall with glowing yellow eyes and giant feet and hands carved out of rock. Anakin was slashing at it with his lightsaber and dodging the swinging arms of the creature.

"Anakin!" Remla inched closer to the exit when the beast swung angrily at her. Remla screamed and stumbled back, tripping over a rock and landing on the dark sand. She was squished tight in the crack and she found it hard to get free. The beast was swinging around madly as Remla grabbed at the rock wall and pulled herself up. Then the beast swung and smashed its fist into the cliff. There was a loud muffled explosion and deafening cracking as Remla stumbled back.

The cliff collapsed around her, rocks raining down and dust spraying around her. Remla fell to the ground as the rocks rained around her, banging and rumbling, the ground shaking as the rocks covered Remla's vision and she passed out.

**Next chapter: The truth of the Force crystals is revealed.**


	6. Chapter 6

Taffo glanced back, hearing loud rumbling from the direction that Remla and her Master had gone in. She could sense through the Force that they were being attacked, attacked by a giant creature of rock.

"Remla and Anakin need help!" Taffo cried, running in the direction she had seen them go.

"Wait Padawan, we can't just rush into danger!" Obi Wan yelled after her. Taffo could sense him behind her, his lightsaber activated. She could sense everything around them, more attuned to the Force than she ever had been. Of course she was, because she had a Force crystal. Two actually. Two Force crystals that she had taken from the vault at the moment on the Sith ship.

And now she could sense that this creature was impenetrable, but it had a weakness. She ran into a clearing before a very tall cliff and saw the rock beast holding Anakin and throwing him into the wall, his limp form falling to the ground.

"Anakin!" Obi Wan shouted.

Taffo glanced around, but couldn't see Remla. She was worried about her friend, but right now, she needed to take care of the beast.

Taffo reached out to the Force, feeling the power of the Force crystals, stretching out with her feelings and sensing a weakness. Yes, it had a small weakness, but it had one.

"Master, get the creature in the eyes." Taffo advised.

"Oh and that seems easy?" Obi Wan smiled at her. Taffo moved behind the creature, trying to think of a way to get on top of the beast and stab it with her lightsaber in the eyes. Or she could throw a stick. A stone! A stone would do.

Taffo ran over to the base of the cliff and grabbed a stone, aiming at the creature's gleaming eyes. This was harder than bulls eying womp rats. Taffo aimed as Obi Wan slashed at the creature's feet, trying to distract it.

Taffo reached out to the Force, reaching out and focusing on the rock hitting the creature in the eye with such force that it would stumble back. Taffo leaned back then threw the rock, using the Force to guide its path, picturing the reaction of the creature when the rock pierced its eye, sensing the power of the Force crystals around her, the energy.

The rock hit its target, crumbling into pieces as it hit the creature's vulnerable eye. The thing roared and the ground shook, stones crumbling off the cliff.

"Good work Padawan." Obi Wan smiled appreciatively. Taffo nodded and watched the creature fall to its death. The thing hit the ground hard and Taffo stumbled, almost falling to the ground. The creature crumbled into pieces and just became a group of rocks on the ground.

Taffo exhaled in relief and then ran over to Obi Wan who was helping Anakin up.

"Where's Remla?" Taffo asked Anakin. Anakin blinked groggily, a slight gash on his forehead from hitting the cliff wall.

"She went to the cliff." Anakin mumbled, clearing his head. "We were going through the fissure in the cliff, the crack."

Taffo glanced over at the cliff ahead of her, seeing that the fissure had filled with rocks. Remla was trapped in there!

Taffo ran over to the rocks and started pulling them, frantically trying to clear a way through.

"Padawan, there is an easier way." Obi Wan smiled. He took out his lightsaber and sliced through the rock, carving them into smaller sizes. The large cluster of rocks became a small amount of golf ball sized stones, crumbling onto the ground. Taffo wrinkled her nose in distaste at the smell of the burnt rocks.

Obi Wan had cleared the path, but the crack was so small. Taffo squinted to see through the darkness when she heard a groan. Taffo stepped slightly into the fissure and saw Remla on the ground.

"Taffo!" Remla smiled, pleased that she was there. She stumbled up and Taffo moved aside to let Remla stumble out of the cliff and into the dim light of Korriban II.

"I hate the small space." Remla smiled slightly, her small form covered in dust. Anakin embraced his Padawan in comfort. Remla closed her eyes and smiled happily, pleased to be in the company of her Master. Anakin seemed like a father to her. He was almost old enough to be.

"This is the way we should be going." Obi Wan decided. "This pass through the cliff would have been hard to see. This must be the way."

"Yes, these cliffs are all around this area." Anakin nodded. "We might be doing more squeezing through fissures in time."

Remla and Taffo glanced at each other in dread. Taffo didn't want to go through the thin fissures; she hated the stale air and the tight space. But she breathed in deeply. She didn't need to get afraid. She had the Force crystals.

"Well Padawans, go ahead." Obi Wan grinned.

"You're the Masters, you go first." Remla smiled.

"I don't want to go first!"

"But you're a Padawan."

"I'll go first for you, Obi Wan." That was Taffo.

"I'd love it if you were careful."

"You mean you love Taffo." That was Remla, who was annoyed at how Obi Wan and Taffo had a relationship that wasn't a Master and Padawan relationship.

"I'll go first." Anakin sighed, stepping into the fissure and then sliding forward out of their sight.

"I hope there will be no more of those rock things around." Remla spoke.

"They are called gunbarks." Obi Wan said. "Rock beasts, this is their home. In this planet."

"Gunbarks." Remla laughed. "There are some weird names for creatures."

"Yeah." Taffo laughed in agreement.

"I'll go behind you." Obi Wan said, glancing at the two of them.

"You can go first." Remla said to Taffo.

"No, I think you should go." Taffo snapped.

"You can."

"No, you!" Taffo growled. Remla blinked, a bit shaken that her friend had reacted like that.

"No need to get frustrated, Padawan." Obi Wan regarded Taffo with concern. "You will all end up passing through anyway."

Taffo looked at the ground, sensing that they were getting wary and suspicious of her. But she didn't want them to be, she didn't want them to take her crystals away. She didn't want to think of what it would be like without them, hardly being able to sense anything, feeling so weak and vulnerable.

"Let's just go." Taffo mumbled, and then headed through the fissure, hoping that nothing else would cause the others to act suspicious.

It took a long 13 minutes before they all passed through to the other side. Remla stepped out, coughing from the dust and looking up at her surroundings. Taffo stared in surprise, looking ahead and seeing the building before her. It was a tall dome shaped building made out of dark stone, and looked similar to the other building on the first Korriban. The Korriban that had blown up.

"That's where he is." Anakin said quietly, stepping out of the fissure and brushing dust off his Jedi robes.

"He knows we are here." Taffo added, sensing him through the Force.

"How could you sense that?" Obi Wan glanced at his Padawan. "Not even I can sense that in the Force."

"I just can." Taffo mumbled.

"Even I am a Master, and I can't sense that."

"You have Force crystals don't you?" Remla asked quietly, looking at her friend. Taffo didn't show any emotion on her face. But Remla was shocked. She couldn't believe that Taffo had stolen the Force crystals, she had actually _stolen _them! She had taken them, which was against everything the Council had sent them to do. After all this time, they were trying to destroy them, yet Taffo had taken them for herself!

Remla was reminded of the time when Taffo had taken a Force crystal, back in Tatooine. And now she had them again.

"I know what it's like." Remla tried to say. "I had my Force crystal for three months, and it corrupts you."

"How many do you have, Padawan?" Obi Wan asked.

"You are going to try and take them from me!" Taffo snapped, reaching for the crystals in her robe.

"No, we won't!" Remla protested. She didn't want to do anything that would make Taffo react; she didn't want her friend to become so protective over the Force crystals as she had started to be.

"You just want the power for yourselves! But they're mine! I need them!" Taffo screamed, running for the building.

"No! Padawan!" Obi Wan shouted. Remla stared in disbelief. Taffo was being taken over by the Force crystals; they were consuming her as they had begun to do to her. Remla ran after her friend. Taffo's will had been weak after enduring the torture from the Sith Lord, and the Force crystals were feeding from it. Remla didn't want to see her friend fall to the Dark Side, like she almost had when she believed her to be dead.

"Remla!" Anakin snapped. Remla tried to ignore her Master, but she didn't want to act like a disobedient Padawan. She was going to be a Jedi, and a Jedi wouldn't react like this.

Remla calmed down and turned to face her Master. She wasn't going to disobey him, even if she wanted to go after Taffo. She still needed to learn the ways of the Jedi, and after almost falling to the Dark Side all those weeks ago, she needed to try.

"We can't just go running into the building." Anakin said. "We need a plan."

Remla glanced back and saw Taffo run inside the building.

"We need to be cautious." Obi Wan said quietly. "We need to go in there and stay alert."

"What's Taffo going to do?" Remla cried. "She'll get captured!"

"I don't think that that was her intention." Obi Wan said gravely.

"What do you mean?" Remla frowned. She didn't want to believe that Taffo would have gone to _join _the Sith.

"She's very close to falling to the Dark Side." Anakin said quietly. "The Force crystals are powerful, and Taffo was weak willed. I am afraid that she has gone into the building – to join with the Sith."

"What? No, I don't believe you!" Remla cried, glancing back at the building. She couldn't stand to think of Taffo going in there to join with the Sith.

"I'm going to stop her!" Remla cried, running for the building.

"Padawan, no!" Anakin shouted. This time, Remla didn't care about obeying her Master. She wanted to get to Taffo and save her from herself. Remla ran to the building, not knowing what was going to happen.

**Next chapter: Taffo and Remla face off and it is up to her to stop Taffo's spiral into the Dark Side.**


	7. Chapter 7

Remla watched as the doors slid open to reveal the dark corridor ahead of her. She hurried in and activated her lightsaber. The place was very similar to the other building on the first Korriban, with the stone corridors and dimly lit rooms.

Anakin and Obi Wan caught up to her and walked along behind her, their lightsabers activated.

"This wasn't a very good thing to do, Padawan." Obi Wan hissed as they quietly made their way down the corridor, their lightsabers humming softly.

"We have to get Taffo out of here." Remla answered quietly, noticing a grate in the wall. Just like in the first building on Korriban.

Suddenly Remla could sense her in the Force. Taffo was here, she was close. It seemed like she was waiting. No, she was fighting! Remla ran forward, hearing the sound of clashing lightsabers. Ahead, she could see Taffo fighting against the Sith Lord. So she wasn't going to join the Sith after all. It looked like Taffo hadn't fully been corrupted yet.

"Taffo!" Remla shouted, running toward her only to be stopped when droidekas started firing at her.

"Padawan!" Anakin ran beside her and they swung their lightsabers, deflecting the laser fire.

"Thermal detonator, get back!" Obi Wan pulled out a thermal detonator in his belt, throwing it at the three droidekas. Remla watched the flashing metallic ball land before the droidekas and then deactivated her lightsaber and dove to the side. She hit the ground and rolled, the detonator exploding. The burning flames roared past her, the heat making her wince as she rolled into Anakin.

"Come on!" Anakin got up and helped Remla up. The two of them hurried down the corridor, stepping over the burnt remains of the droidekas.

"Where's Obi Wan?" Remla glanced around but couldn't see Taffo's Master nearby.

"He's gone." Anakin replied dismissively. Remla jumped forward and activated her lightsaber and swinging it at Von Sander.

The Sith Lord stepped back and glared at her. She swung her lightsaber and blocked an attack from the Sith, who had put a cloth into his empty eye socket. Then behind her she sensed an attack from Taffo. Remla could hardly believe that her friend was attacking her!

Remla spun and clashed with Taffo's lightsaber. Remla swung and blocked, swinging and hitting, their two lightsabers clashing together. Remla crouched and rolled to the side then got up and swung her lightsaber at Taffo. She hit Taffo's lightsaber with such force that it was knocked from her hand.

Taffo's lightsaber clattered to the ground and Taffo held up her palm and Remla was suddenly thrown back by the Force, hitting the ground and losing her grip on her lightsaber. Her lightsaber hilt rolled across the ground.

Remla glanced back and saw Anakin in a duel with Von Sander. Obi Wan was still nowhere to be seen. What was he doing? Taffo jumped at her and swung her lightsaber down at her head. Remla quickly rolled across the ground, reaching out to the Force and grabbing her lightsaber as it flew into her hand. Remla jumped up and activated her lightsaber in time to block Taffo's attack. She couldn't believe that Taffo was trying to kill her.

"Stop this Taffo!" Remla snapped. She swung and defended herself from Taffo's strong attacks. She could tell that Taffo had fallen to the Dark Side. She could sense the power from the Force crystals, the crystals had corrupted her. If they were destroyed, Taffo would be free from their corruption. Or would she still be in the Dark Side?

"You won't take them from me!" Taffo said angrily. Remla didn't know how to answer. She didn't know what to say to her best friend who had turned to the Dark Side. _Fallen_ to the Dark Side. She still kept thinking of their first mission in Tatooine, and what Taffo had been like before the Force crystals had been found. Remla was beginning to worry that she wouldn't be able to see Taffo like that again.

"How many do you have?" Remla asked, stepping back as they both started circling. Remla held her lightsaber high and watched Taffo warily.

"Two." Taffo smiled, which unnerved Remla. "Two. And they will be mine!"

Taffo swung her lightsaber and the two of them swung and spun, their lightsabers spinning and clashing. Remla stepped back and spun, knocking Taffo's lightsaber to the side. Taffo exhaled loudly and stood in a stance that Remla recognised that of the Sith.

Remla stood in her own stance, holding her lightsaber slightly to the left and raised slightly. Taffo stood with her lightsaber raised, holding it before her face and glaring at Remla.

"You're my friend, Taffo!" Remla cried. "Don't let the Force crystals corrupt you!"

"I won't let you take them!" Taffo snapped. "I don't care anymore. These crystals make me stronger!"

"Obi Wan cares about you!" Remla shouted. "Let go of this! Forget about the Force crystals!"

Taffo looked at Remla and for a moment Remla thought she was actually listening to her. Then Taffo turned and ran, deactivating her lightsaber and running down the corridor.

Remla started to run after her, but she looked back and saw Anakin fighting the Sith Lord. Remla looked back at Taffo. She couldn't leave her Master behind and go after Taffo. That reminded her of the time she had done that when she was on Bespin and Taffo was on Dantooine.

Remla ran to Anakin and swung her lightsaber at the Sith Lord, who spun and blocked. Remla glanced at Anakin who attacked the Sith Lord from behind. Von Sander swung and blocked, his red lightsaber clashing against their blue ones.

"You know that if you strike me down, Taffo will take my place." Von Sander smiled.

"Not when I'm here." Remla retorted, spinning and blocking the Sith's attacks.

"Padawan, go!" Anakin shouted.

"Why?" Remla got confused at this. Why would her Master want her to go?

"Obi Wan will take care of this! Go!" Anakin snapped.

Remla stepped back from them and ran down the corridor, confused at how Anakin had wanted her to leave. What did he mean by saying that Obi Wan would take care of this? Remla ran out of the building to hear the whirring of the engines of their ship.

Remla glanced up in surprise to see Obi Wan pilot the ship to land in front of her. The landing ramp opened and Remla had no other choice but to get in. Remla deactivated her lightsaber and ran in, taking a seat behind Obi Wan.

"Why did you get the ship?" Remla asked.

"A tactic." Obi Wan smiled.

Remla nodded and then started thinking about Taffo. What was going to happen to her friend? Where could she go? There were no other ships around here, not that they knew of.

"Taffo's gone." Remla said sadly.

"I know." Obi Wan said quietly.

"There is hope that she can be saved." Remla said. "Isn't there?"

"Taffo isn't fully in the Dark Side." Obi Wan answered. "You can try and save her, but I am afraid that if she has fallen too far, then-"

"I will have to kill her." Remla finished. She couldn't think of killing her best friend. It was the Force crystals, the Force crystals had caused all this. Remla began to feel guilty. If she hadn't opened the vault of the Force crystals back at the ship, then Taffo wouldn't have taken them.

Remla looked out of the view screen to see Anakin run out of the building and enter the ship. He looked worn out from the battle against the Sith Lord.

"Let's get going." Anakin said breathlessly. Remla looked out at the building as the ship rose into the air. Remla saw the Sith Lord run out of the building. He glanced up at them and Remla saw a flicker of fear across his one eyed face. He knew what was going to happen.

Obi Wan fired. The blue laser fire struck the ground in front of the Sith Lord who went flying backwards to hit the ground in front of the building. Obi Wan continued firing, laser blasts hitting the building, stone crumbling and breaking apart, falling to the ground in a cloud of dust and burnt rock.

The sound was deafening but Remla just watched as the building was blown apart and they kept rising into the air. Soon they were above the rubble of the building, smoke rising around them. As it started to clear, Remla could see that the building had become a pile of burnt rubble. There was no way that the Sith would have survived that.

"He's dead." Remla spoke. Finally, after all the months of hunting him, the Sith Lord was dead. She didn't need to worry about the Sith who had made her believe that Taffo was dead all those months. But now she was worried for Taffo, and what the Force crystals were doing to her.

"And now we have Taffo to go after." Obi Wan said quietly. Remla nodded, brushing her hair back, suddenly feeling tired. Tired and worn out after everything that had happened. The ship sped out of Korriban II and Remla closed her eyes to meditate on what was going to happen, and prepare herself for the confrontation against her old friend.

**Next chapter: Remla must prepare for another duel against her former best friend. A duel to the death.**


	8. Chapter 8

The ship landed on a landing pad in front of the Jedi Temple. Remla looked out at the setting sun as she followed her Master and Obi Wan out of the ship.

"I will report these events to the Council." Obi Wan said. "It would be a good idea to get some rest."

Remla nodded in agreement as she followed Obi Wan and her Master into the dimly lit Temple. It was quiet at this time of the day, and a few Padawans passed by and greeted Obi Wan.

"See you tomorrow." Obi Wan smiled at Remla and her Master. Then he turned and walked to the Council chambers.

"You need some rest Padawan." Anakin advised Remla. Remla just looked at the ground. They were all saying that because they were worried that she would get angry or something because of how Taffo had fallen to the Dark Side. But she wasn't going to. Remla was going to try and handle this situation like a Jedi would.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Remla said to her Master.

"May the Force be with you." Anakin nodded, smiling briefly before turning and walking away. Remla watched her Master go before heading to her own meditation room to think.

The sunlight burned at her eyes. Remla pried her eyes open and quickly got up and changed into her Jedi robes. She had dreaded this day, the day where she would have to face the Council, and probably end up facing Taffo.

Remla hurried down the hall, occasionally looking out the window at the traffic outside. On her way to the Council, she met up with Obi Wan.

"Obi Wan." Remla smiled, walking up to the Jedi Master.

"Padawan Remla." Obi Wan smiled tiredly. Remla could tell that he was also dreading this day, and that he was worried about his Padawan.

The two of them walked to the Council chamber and stepped inside. The room was dimly lit and a few of the Jedi Masters were missing. Remla bowed in front of the Masters, feeling desolate and she kept expecting Taffo to walk in, smiling and gazing at Obi Wan as she did. Now she felt alone without her best friend nearby, they would usually laugh and joke about things that weren't what any of the other Jedi would laugh about.

"Padawan Remla." Master Windu commented. "The Sith Lord has been destroyed. We are aware of Padawan Taffo, and the Force crystals."

Remla looked at the ground. Of course they would know, they were only speaking like this so she wouldn't get upset about her friend. But Remla wasn't going to be like that. Taffo had turned to the Dark Side, and as a Jedi, she would save her.

"What do you wish me to do, Masters?" Remla asked quietly, but she was sure that she knew the answer.

"Find Taffo, and if possible, try and bring her back." Master Obi Wan answered.

"Important, this is." Master Yoda said gravely. "Lose her, we cannot."

"Yes Masters." Remla nodded. "But where can I find her? I don't know where to look."

"Use your feelings, and find her you will." Master Yoda said. Remla didn't understand. How could she use her feelings to find her friend? Did that mean that she would be able to sense her? Sense where she was?

"Taffo is in danger." Master Anakin pointed out. "The Force crystals she has are the last ones in the galaxy. She is a target for bounty hunters and Dark Jedi. You must destroy the last of the Force crystals."

"Find Padawan Taffo and stop this." Master Ki Adi Mundi added.

"Farewell. Council dismissed." Master Windu said. The Jedi Masters stood up and Remla went over to her Master.

"Do you know where she could have gone?" Remla asked him.

"I think you know." Anakin smiled slightly. Remla looked at the ground. What did he mean? How could she just suddenly know where her friend was? And all the Jedi Masters were acting like they already knew, and were just waiting for her to realise it. Remla wasn't going to realise it, she was getting frustrated with this. She wasn't a Jedi Master; she couldn't sense where Taffo was in the galaxy.

Then suddenly she realised. Those hallucinations she had when she had been captured by the Sith Lord, the visions of Bespin. Bespin, when the ship was going to crash, and when the Council sent them to Bespin. It was Bespin. Taffo had to be at Bespin! That was what she had seen in the Force premonitions caused by the hallucination injections; the Force had been guiding her to Bespin, where she would confront Taffo.

Now it all made sense, Remla just hadn't been as attuned to the Force as she should have been. After losing the Force crystal, her Force connection had weakened, because of how she had relied on the Force crystal to give her the connection. Now finally she understood what the Force was showing her, the Force had been guiding her to Bespin.

"Bespin." Remla said. "She's in Bespin isn't she?"

"Yes." Anakin nodded, impressed that his Padawan had figured it out.

"But why would she go there?" Remla asked, confused at Taffo's actions.

"She's luring everyone there." Anakin said as they walked out of the Council chambers. "To confront you and to kill everyone that is after her."

Remla was shocked at how Anakin talked about Taffo killing people, just randomly killing because she wanted the Force crystals to herself.

The two of them walked out of the Temple and over to the docking bay to see two starfighters awaiting them. They glinted in the sunlight, and again Remla felt alone without Taffo nearby. Then she heard footsteps behind them.

Remla turned around to see Obi Wan run up to them, with someone else following.

"Who's that?" Anakin asked.

"This is Padawan Sasha." Obi Wan answered. "The Council has requested that we bring her with us, as many Padawans need Masters, and Sasha is available for her second mission."

"She is?" Remla asked, feeling a bit annoyed that the Council had assigned Obi Wan a new Padawan when his Padawan was still Taffo. She wasn't sure that Sasha would be helpful, as this would be her first mission.

"Yes, I am." Sasha answered calmly. Remla glanced at her. She had curly red hair and blue eyes, with milk white skin. She seemed to be quite mature for a Padawan, as Remla could sense that she was calm. Remla was a bit jealous at this. Remla hadn't been calm or centered in the Force when she was on her first mission. But this was Sasha's second mission. Remla began to think about where her previous Master was. Maybe he had died.

"We cannot delay." Obi Wan spoke. "Padawan Sasha, are you able to fly in a starfighter?"

"Yes." Sasha nodded. "I could fly well with my previous Master."

So she did have another Master. Remla guessed she was right when she guessed that he was dead.

"See you soon." Obi Wan nodded, glancing at Anakin.

"May the Force be with you." Sasha smiled. Remla felt a bit uncomfortable with a new person being with them. She was so used to having Taffo around, just her and Taffo, Anakin and Obi Wan. And now there was Sasha.

Remla followed her Master over to the starfighters and jumped in hers. She fastened her belt and activated the comlink.

"It would be easier to stay on autopilot." Anakin advised over the comlink.

"Yes Master." Remla agreed, looking at the datapad as her droid beeped.

"Yes, keep it on autopilot." Remla told R7. The yellow droid beeped as the starfighter rose into the air, facing the dark orange clouds before flying towards them.

Remla looked out of the view screen, seeing Obi Wan and his new Padawan flying ahead, Anakin behind her. Remla was still annoyed at Sasha being with them. But that was being selfish and jealous; a Jedi wouldn't be like that. But at the moment, Remla wanted Taffo to come back; she didn't want any other Padawan to replace her.

The starfighter sped out of the atmosphere and Remla was surrounded by the familiar glittering stars, and again she was reminded of when she had gone after Taffo when she went through the asteroid field.

Remla kept the starfighter on autopilot as they flew across the stars to Bespin.

Remla jerked awake, realising that she had been half asleep. She glanced up to see the looming orange planet of Bespin ahead. Obi Wan and _Sasha_ had already entered the atmosphere.

And there it was again. Remla was still annoyed at Sasha being with them, she was almost like a replacement for Taffo. Remla guided the starship into the atmosphere, passing through the wispy orange clouds to see the tall buildings of Cloud City. The city was still being developed, and Remla thought about what it would be like in the future. It was then that she noticed all of the starships around the city. There were some that looked like they were from the other side of the galaxy.

It was then that Remla realised that they were bounty hunters, bounty hunters after the last of the Force crystals. They had all come here to get the crystals off Taffo.

Remla piloted the starfighter to the closest platform and landed, flicking the controls to land awkwardly. She quickly jumped out of her starfighter and pulled out her lightsaber as R7 beeped quietly.

"Stay there R7." Remla ordered as R7 looked like he was going to follow her. R7 beeped as Remla hurried away from the platform, looking ahead at the tall building that the starships had landed around. This was where Taffo was, she could sense it.

Remla glanced behind her to see Anakin's starship land beside hers. On the platform opposite, she could see Obi Wan and Sasha land their starfighters. Remla ran up to her Master as he got out of the starship.

"She's in that building." Remla said.

"I know." Anakin got out of his starfighter and followed her down to the tall building that resembled a house.

"We can't let the Sith or any of the bounty hunters get those crystals." Anakin warned. Remla nodded, activating her blue lightsaber as they stepped into the house. The door had been shot down but it was silent inside. Remla began to doubt if Taffo was even in here.

The white corridors were dimly lit with blue lights on the roof. Remla walked beside her Master, hoping Obi Wan and Sasha would be able to find the same building they were in. But why was she thinking that? Of course they would, Jedi can sense in the Force. Remla sighed to herself. She was just tired and worried about meeting her former friend, and how she would be able to get the Force crystals off her.

Suddenly the lights flickered and the building plunged into darkness. Remla blinked a few times, trying to see where she was. She held her lightsaber up and watched the blue light cast a soft glow around them, partially lighting the corridor. She was startled when Anakin grabbed her arm.

"Come on." Anakin hissed. Remla followed Anakin through the dark, reaching out to the Force, sensing her surroundings. She could sense that Taffo was nearby.

Remla stepped forward, glancing over at her Master who had a soft blue light cast over his face from their glowing blue lightsabers. Anakin just nodded at her, and Remla realised what he meant. Taffo was straight ahead of them.

**Next chapter: Remla and Taffo's final fight, and the fate of the last Force crystal!**


	9. Chapter 9

Remla held her lightsaber tightly and hurried forward. The corridor grew lighter as Remla found herself standing in front of a dimly lit room, sunlight shining in from the window, Taffo standing in front of her in a battle against Jango Fett.

"Taffo!" Remla shouted. Her friend didn't even glance at her as she deflected the laser fire from the bounty hunter. As Remla's eyes adjusted to the light in the room, she saw the slain bodies of bounty hunters strewn across the floor, slaughtered with a lightsaber.

But to Remla's shock, she noticed that one of them had been killed with Force lightning. How could Taffo have learnt that? Remla looked up at her old friend, not wanting to believe that she had fallen so far into the Dark Side, far enough to learn how to use the powers of the Dark Side. A Sith power.

Suddenly Anakin jumped forward, knocking the bounty hunter to the ground with the Force. Remla took the moment to run at Taffo, swinging her lightsaber. When Jango got to his feet, he was in a battle against Anakin as Remla fought against Taffo.

"Stop this Taffo!" Remla pleaded. She didn't want to fight her best friend, Obi Wan's Padawan. Taffo replied with a dark glare, swinging her lightsaber in anger.

Remla stepped forward, the two of them moving to the back of the room to stand before the wide window, the sunlight momentarily blinding Remla. She dodged a complicated swing from Taffo, blocking her attacks. Their lightsabers clashed and hissed together as Remla swung and smashed the window.

The glass exploded and the wind pulled at them. Remla fought to stay balanced, dodging attacks from her former friend. Remla looked down at the ground. It wasn't a long fall, but it was still a dangerous one.

Remla focused on fighting Taffo, who was a hard opponent. Remla could sense the power from her Force crystals, which was giving her a strength that was hard to equal. Remla dodged another dangerous swing that would have decapitated her and stepped to the side, away from the window.

Taffo continued attacking, Remla ended up defending, her lightsaber swinging to block Taffo's deadly swings as she backed away. They were moving away from the window and Taffo's attacks were speeding up as she became fuelled from her hate.

Remla felt tears in her eyes as she looked at her friend, her friend who had fallen.

"Obi Wan misses you." Remla said quietly, dodging another attack. Taffo didn't answer but gave her a stony glare. Remla was surprised at Taffo's reaction; she was so centered in the Force, in the Dark Side, using the power of the Force crystals to fight. This wasn't Taffo; this was the Force crystals controlling her, using her as a source of power, draining her emotions and will. The Force crystals were dangerous weapons in the hands of a Sith.

A Sith.

That was what Taffo had become. More like a Dark Jedi. She had been corrupted by the Force crystals, and Remla was seeing her as a friend who could still be redeemed, still be saved. But as Taffo attacked, Remla could see that her friend had died, her friend was gone, drained away by the power of the Force crystals that she had used in anger and hate.

Taffo had died when she began using the Force crystals, now she was just a shell of power that the Force crystals fed on.

Remla was even more surprised at how she reacted. Instead of getting angry and feeling guilty about it, Remla felt calm. She was finally attuned to the Force, which had given her an inner strength. She had broken free from the Force crystals, and even though she had, she could see that Taffo could not be saved. It was too late.

Remla reached out the Force, focusing on Taffo's attacks, and then started to attack. She pushed forward as Taffo stepped back. They moved back towards the window. Remla looked over at her Master to see him deliver the killing blow to Jango Fett.

Remla watched the bounty hunter's head fall to the ground. Jango had been no match for a Jedi.

Anakin looked up at his Padawan and went to help when Taffo suddenly held out her hand and a bolt of Force lightning shot at Anakin. Remla watched in horror as her Master was hit by the crackling lightning and he fell to the ground, wincing from the electricity that coursed through him. Remla could see wisps of smoke around him. They had underestimated Taffo, thinking of her as their friend, Obi Wan's Padawan. Remla looked at Taffo. But this was not Taffo any more, this was a Dark Jedi.

Taffo looked back at Remla and suddenly fired Force lightning at her. Remla had been so unaware when the lightning suddenly hit her; she felt the burning lightning tear through her as Taffo continuously fired the burning blue bolts at her. Remla could feel them tearing through her skin, burning through and pushing her back. Remla could smell the smoke, hear her screams as she was forced back by the power of the lightning and then it stopped.

Remla felt herself falling and her mind cleared from the pain to see that she had been forced off the edge. She could hear Anakin shout out; she could feel the wind rush past her. Remla saw Taffo's form standing above her, looking down at her falling form. Remla felt a surge of hate, hate and anger at what Taffo had become.

So she reached out to the Force and pulled Taffo off the edge. Anakin stood at the edge, looking down as his Padawan and Taffo fell down to their deaths below.

Remla reached out to the Force, turning around in the air to face the ground below her. She tried to get ready for the impact, but nothing would prepare her for that. Remla smashed into the ground, feeling her bones crack and her body hit the ground with the force of a starship speeding into her. Remla felt her mind slip away, hearing Taffo's body land beside her, hearing a similar crack before her mind darkened.

Remla was pulled out of her thoughts, her thoughts of death and darkness and pain. She forced her eyes open, feeling the pain of falling out of the window and hitting the concrete. Her bones felt like they had been smashed with a hammer. Her head throbbed in agony as Remla managed to roll onto her side, breathing in the air that burned at her lungs.

Remla saw Taffo's motionless form beside her, and wondered if she had died.

Remla tried to get up, but the pain was too immense. She felt like lying there for hours, but she knew that she had to help Taffo. Remla managed to get to her feet, clutching at her arm that had felt like it wasn't even there. Remla glanced at her arm to see the torn remains of her artificial hand and the sparking wires; she could see the blood dripping onto the concrete from some wound she couldn't feel.

Her robes were torn and blackened from the Force lightning that had burned through her. The fall hadn't been dangerously long, but it had been long enough for her to fall and break her ribs and arm. Remla glanced around for her lightsaber, ignoring the pain searing through her mind. She saw the hilt lying near Taffo who started moving. Remla quickly used the Force to grab her lightsaber and activated the blue blade, watching her former friend warily.

Suddenly Taffo leapt to her feet with an air of confidence around her, activating her own lightsaber and attacking Remla. Remla could barely fight back, the Force lightning and the fall had weakened her, and Taffo was too strong. The Force crystals were healing her, keeping her alive, fueling her dark emotions.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you Taffo." Remla spoke, her voice sounding dry and broken. Must have been from the Force lightning. Taffo regarded her with an emotionless stare, forcing Remla close to the edge of the platform. Remla stepped away, but Taffo's attacks were getting harder and more ferocious. She couldn't keep fighting her for long.

"Obi Wan loves you." Remla said, speaking the truth. She wondered if Taffo would think the same. But Taffo regarded her with a stony look. Remla knew, she knew that this wasn't Taffo. But suddenly, Remla saw a flicker of sadness cross her face. Taffo could still be saved.

"He doesn't want you to end this way." Remla continued. "You know he loves you, don't let the Force crystals destroy you!"

Taffo swung her lightsaber with such force that Remla's lightsaber was knocked to the ground. Remla stumbled back in surprise and fear. She didn't know what the Dark Jedi would do next. Force lightning would knock her off the platform. She could be struck down before she could call her lightsaber to her. She was going to die.

Taffo pointed her lightsaber at Remla's neck. Remla looked down at the glowing, humming blue blade.

"Taffo, do it." Remla said quietly. "Kill me, kill your Padawan friend. I wonder what Obi Wan will think."

Taffo stared at her, and Remla could tell her friend was struggling with her feelings.

"Taffo, let go of the Force crystals, just let them go." Remla pleaded. Taffo lowered her lightsaber. Remla began to get relieved and pleased that she was getting through to her friend.

"Just drop the Force crystals." Remla pleaded. "For Obi Wan."

Taffo lowered her lightsaber to her side and spoke for the first time since their battle began.

"I'm sorry, old friend." Taffo said. Remla frowned. Why would she say that? Why wouldn't she do this for Obi Wan? Had she really fallen too far?

Taffo swung her lightsaber. Remla dodged in time to avoid getting her head cut off. Taffo pointed her fingers at her and Remla knew she was vulnerable. Then the Force lightning hit her, the burning, painful bolts of lightning made Remla double over in pain, and then she felt her feet in the air. She had been pushed off the platform!

Remla reacted by grasping for the edge, feeling the edge of the platform and holding on. The blinding Force lightning had stopped. Remla looked above her to see Taffo looking down at her, raising her lightsaber to strike.

"What would Obi Wan say?" Remla started to cry, not wanting to believe that Taffo couldn't be saved. "He loves you Taffo, and you were both good together, don't throw all that away for power! Don't become an obsessive, dominative Sith! Be a Padawan, go on missions with your Master Obi Wan, stay as my friend!"

Taffo lowered her lightsaber. Remla's arms stung from holding onto the platform edge, feeling the clouds around her feet. She cried, not caring if Taffo was going to kill her or not. She was disappointed that she had believed that her friend could be saved.

Suddenly a hand grasped her arm and Remla was pulled up onto the platform to see Taffo had helped her up.

"Taffo!" Remla cried happily. Taffo stared at her with a mixture of grief, sadness and guilt on her face.

"I can't believe this happened to me." Taffo whispered, pulling out the Force crystals from her robe. They glittered and shone dully. "They consumed me; I just couldn't get away from their power."

"You almost killed me, you know." Remla pointed out.

"But I didn't." Taffo said. "That's what saved me."

"Obi Wan saved you." Remla corrected. "It was your relationship with Obi Wan that did it."

"Yeah." Taffo smiled, thinking of Obi Wan.

"Obi Wan and the Council will be so happy to hear that you're back." Remla smiled. "You're free from the Dark Side Taffo!"

"It was so powerful." Taffo murmured, looking down at the Force crystals. "So hard to break away from."

Remla heard a blaster fire. She saw Taffo stiffen, the Force crystals slipping from her hand to fall to the ground, the sound of the two of them hitting the concrete seemed to echo through Remla's mind as she stared at how everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She saw a small wisp of smoke appear from Taffo's chest, saw the burnt black hole through her side.

Then she saw Taffo's body fall off the platform.

**Next chapter: Can Taffo be saved from death this time?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hope you like the story so far.**

"NO! TAFFO!" Remla screamed, running to the edge to see Taffo's body fall through the clouds to her death. Remla felt the tears burn at her eyes, looking up at the window to see a purple Twi'lek bounty hunter holding a blaster. He had shot Taffo; he had shot her just when she had turned back to the good side!

"DIE!" Remla screamed in anger and fury. This was different from when she had thought Taffo had first died. Taffo had been redeemed; she had broken Taffo out of the power of the Force crystals, and then the bounty hunter had shot her. The pain was raw and it hurt so bad, this time Remla knew that Taffo was truly dead. She was gone completely. Her life had ended and she could have stopped it!

Remla reached out to the Force, trying to calm down but also wanting the bounty hunter to die. She used the Force to pull the Twi'lek out from the window. The bounty hunter screamed as he fell down to land with a crack in front of her. Remla used the Force to get her lightsaber to her hand, igniting the blue blade and running to the Twi'lek. It groaned and looked up at her, tears in his eyes. It started to squeal in an alien language, grovelling before her. Remla looked at it in hate, about to swing her lightsaber to remove its head, to make it die in revenge of Taffo's death.

But he was unarmed. And what would his death prove? It would only start her path to the Dark Side, the path she had begun when she believed Taffo to be dead. But now she was dead! She was dead and this bounty hunter had killed her!

Remla lowered her lightsaber. She couldn't kill this bounty hunter, it wasn't the Jedi way. But if she let the bounty hunter go, she would regret it forever. Even if it wasn't the Jedi way, she wanted the bounty hunter dead.

A hand grabbed Remla's arm and lowered it. Remla turned and saw her Master regarding her with sympathy.

"I want to kill him." Remla snapped. "He killed Taffo, just when she had been redeemed!"

"I know, Padawan." Anakin said softly. Remla let him take her lightsaber as she stared down at the crying bounty hunter at her feet. She wanted this bounty hunter dead.

"Let's go." Anakin said quietly. Remla nodded sadly, looking up to see Obi Wan and Sasha run over.

"Taffo!" Obi Wan sobbed, looking at Remla. He knew that she had died.

"I saved her." Remla said. "But now she's dead."

Obi Wan looked at the ground in grief. Sasha looked out at the clouds, not knowing how to react.

"Death is unavoidable." Sasha whispered quietly.

"We need to return to the Council." Anakin said quietly. Obi Wan nodded in agreement. Remla looked over at the bounty hunter who scrambled to his feet and started to run.

Remla wanted him dead, but she knew it wasn't the Jedi way.

As she turned to walk away, she noticed the Force crystals at the edge of the platform. She walked over and stood on them, feeling them crush under her feet. The last of the Force crystals were gone. Taffo had been sacrificed for the safety of the galaxy.

Remla looked back at her Master who embraced her in comfort. She knew it would take a long time to get over her grief for her dead friend, in her mind she could still see Taffo's body falling through the clouds, and she would still be alive, still hoping that someone would go and save her as she fell to her death.

That thought made Remla angry again. She didn't want her friend to think and hope for help. She could only hope that Taffo had died immediately and that she wasn't still alive as she fell through the clouds.

Remla walked back to the starfighters, not noticing her Master using the Force to push the bounty hunter off the platform, too far away to hear his screams as he fell to his death.

Remla piloted her starfighter into Coruscant, taking a moment to view the stars glittering around her. She took a moment to think about her friend, how Taffo had died. It was good that she had died being redeemed, and not to have died as a Dark Jedi. But the death had been so sudden.

Remla piloted her starfighter to land on the landing platform. She got out of her starfighter, wincing at the pain from her injuries. Her skin felt stretched and raw from the Force lightning, and the impact when she hit the ground had broken a few bones. She felt weak and tired, but also sad. Sad and empty at having lost her best friend.

Obi Wan would have been heartbroken, his Padawan and his love was now dead.

Remla said farewell to R7 and walked over to her Master. She saw Obi Wan and Sasha talking quietly, Obi Wan looked worn out and sad. The four of them walked into the Temple. A few Padawans regarded Remla with a shocked look.

"I think you should go to the medical facility." Anakin advised. "You need to rest up before we return to the Council."

Remla nodded, and then rethought about that.

"No, you go to the Council, Master." Remla said. "I don't think I'm ready."

Anakin looked at her sadly, but nodded in agreement.

"Well, may the Force be with you." Anakin smiled slightly. Remla watched him leave then made her way to the medical facility. She saw Padawan Sasha along the way, and was surprised when she walked over to her.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Sasha said softly.

"Don't be." Remla answered. "I just need time to think."

Sasha nodded in agreement and walked away.

Remla found her way to the medical facility and walked up to the droid. The droid scanned her wounds and she was administered a bacta liquid.

An hour later, Remla had changed and she had a few scars from the Force lightning, her arm had been reattached with an upgraded version with touch sensors. Remla wasn't very excited about that. Her ribs had been healed as much as they could be, but Remla was advised to not fall out of windows for a while. Droid humour, Remla thought.

Remla left the medical facility and walked to the Council chamber, passing Jedi who gave her casual glances. She felt more like a Jedi than a Padawan. Choosing not to kill the bounty hunter had given her a new perspective, the perspective of a Jedi. Remla hoped that she had proved herself to the Council, by choosing to not kill the bounty hunter.

Remla saw Obi Wan walking to his meditation room as she wandered the halls.

"Obi Wan!" Remla called. Obi Wan turned to face her, smiling sadly.

"The Council has requested your presence." Obi Wan said.

"They have?" Remla was surprised.

"I think you could be ready, ready to be a Jedi." Obi Wan smiled. Remla was shocked at this. She was ready to be a Jedi!

"Wow, I'll go there straight away." Remla grinned, leaving Obi Wan to enter his room and meditate. Remla hurried down the corridors, too excited to think. But she knew that once she would step into the Council chambers, she would be missing Taffo all over again.

But now she was going to be a Jedi, and she wanted to be a strong, wise Jedi so Taffo would be proud of her friend's achievements.

And one day, Remla hoped that she would be wise enough to become a Jedi Master with her own Padawan. But that would be in another time, when she would be ready.

Remla walked up to the Council chamber and stepped through the door, sensing the Jedi Masters sitting in their seats. She saw them, sitting in their egg shaped seats, regarding her with an expressionless glance.

Remla knew they were all judging her, seeing how she was handling Taffo's sudden death. But Remla was going to try and move on, even though she knew that it was going to be so hard to do.

"Padawan Remla." Master Windu acknowledged her.

"Masters." Remla bowed.

Anakin stood up and walked to stand beside her. Remla was confused. Why had her Master stood before the Council? Was this really going to be when she would become a Jedi? Was this how they did it?

"We understand the situation you are in, Padawan." Master Windu said. "You just lost your friend; we just lost a Padawan."

"Sad to hear, this was." Master Yoda added. "But move on, we must."

"There are more pressing matters." Master Ki Adi Mundi spoke. "The Clone Wars are approaching, and we must send out as many Jedi as we can to keep the Republic intact."

Remla noticed Master Yoda nodding in agreement.

"But first, we have taken notice of you, Padawan." Master Windu spoke to Remla. "Even though you have made mistakes in the past, we are ready to accept you fully into the Jedi Order."

"You wish for my Padawan to become a Jedi Knight?" Anakin raised an eyebrow. Remla smiled in excitement.

"Yes, but there are many trials that you must pass." Master Windu answered. "The trials of a Jedi Knight. And once you pass, then you will be granted the title of a Jedi Knight."

"What if I fail?" Remla asked.

The Masters exchanged looks.

"We think you will be ready." Master Ki Adi Mundi answered. "You have faced a Sith apprentice, helped kill a Sith Lord, and redeem Padawan Taffo from the Dark Side. You have shown that you are capable of this."

"Do you think your Padawan is ready?" Master Windu turned to Anakin.

"She is." Anakin smiled at his Padawan. Remla smiled back in nervous excitement. She was worried about the upcoming trials, but excited about the thought of being a Jedi Knight.

"Then if you feel you are ready." Master Windu nodded at Remla.

"I am ready Masters." Remla spoke proudly.

"Ready for trials, you are." Master Yoda said thoughtfully.

"The trials will commence." Master Windu spoke.

Remla nodded and bowed to the Masters. She felt ready for this; she had been waiting for this time for so long.

**Next chapter: The final chapter. Remla faces her future as a Jedi Knight.**


	11. Chapter 11

The sky was dark. Remla stared out of her window; looking out at the stars, reflecting back on the time when she had seen Taffo fall off the platform, see her fall down through the clouds.

That had been weeks ago, and now she had finished the gruelling tasks of the trials. She had passed, she had completed them. And now she was a Jedi Knight.

She heard a knock at her door, and opened it, surprised to see her Master standing there.

"Hi Anakin." Remla smiled, pleased that he had visited her. Her Master was all she had, now that Taffo had gone.

"I'm sorry about Taffo." Anakin said quietly, looking at the ground.

"You don't need to be." Remla said. "I saved her, and I'm glad about that. I know I can't do anything else about it."

"I'm proud that you are a Jedi Knight." Anakin smiled. "Like me."

"Yeah." Remla smiled happily. "How did you end up with a Padawan, even though you aren't a Master?"

"It's a long story." Anakin laughed, then went serious. "I told Samoline of Taffo's passing."

Remla frowned. Anakin had spoken of this Samoline as though she should know it.

"Taffo's mother." Anakin clarified. Remla looked at the ground. She had forgotten that Taffo's mother was here, in the Temple, training her own Padawan.

She could remember how Taffo had mentioned about her mother, briefly. Remla wondered how Samoline would take the news of her daughter's death. But she was confused; would Samoline have known that Taffo hadn't died in Korriban? The Council would have told her. Or she, as Taffo's mother, would have known that Taffo had never died.

"Well, I must be going." Anakin smiled slightly. "I'm on a mission to protect Senator Amidala."

"Okay." Remla nodded; quite disappointed that she wouldn't be going on missions with Anakin anymore. She looked at her Master. There were no feelings like Taffo had had for Obi Wan.

And Remla was okay with that.

"May the Force be with you." Anakin nodded at his Padawan and left. Remla watched her former Master leave, and wondered what her future would hold. She would be able to go on her own missions, but occasionally she would need a Master. And she hoped that Anakin would go with her. And perhaps, she would get her own Padawan one day. And Remla promised that her Padawan would not fall.

Remla looked back out of the window, looking out at the stars. And for a moment, she could sense Taffo nearby; she could sense her in the Force.

And Taffo was happy where she was.

**The end of my Star Wars stories! I'm considering another sequel, when Remla begins to train her Padawan, but not so sure. Thanks for taking time to read this story! Any comments would be appreciated!**


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